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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015878">grey skies and soft lips</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkest_shades_of_red/pseuds/darkest_shades_of_red'>darkest_shades_of_red</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>aftg one shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>All For The Game - Nora Sakavic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(kinda), Arising feelings, Canon Compliant, Evening, Fluff, I wrote this for the aesthetic of it, Kissing, M/M, One Shot, Rooftop Moments, Short One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:33:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,847</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26015878</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkest_shades_of_red/pseuds/darkest_shades_of_red</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Neil and Andrew kiss on the rooftop. Neil gets carried away in his thoughts, it's all very gentle</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>aftg one shots [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888267</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>101</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>grey skies and soft lips</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Translations are welcome! Just ask first, then I can link your work.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a Wednesday evening when Neil’s phone dinged with a message from Andrew. <em>Roof</em>, it said. Of course, Neil made up some excuse for Nicky and didn’t waste time seeking him out. Andrew was sitting on the edge of the roof, as always, a small silhouette dressed in black with wind in his hair, pale gold under the pearly grey of the sky, and his gaze turned toward the campus, watching the few oblivious students that were out at this time. His hand was resting next to him on the concrete wall, cigarette held lightly between his index and middle finger, and Neil watched as he slowly lifted it to his lips. Smoke escaped around his head, appearing dark against the fading light in the West. It was a warm evening, the breeze pleasant on the bare skin of Neil’s arms and face – when Neil was just hanging out with the Foxes, he didn’t bother with the arm bands or any make-up to hide his scars.<br/>
“Do you need more time staring or are you scared to come over here?” Andrew asked without looking over his shoulder.<br/>
Smoke curled up as he spoke before being caught by the wind. Neil didn’t say anything, just walked across the roof with light steps and sat down next to Andrew, legs dangling over the edge. “Come a little closer,” he said quietly.<br/>
To Neil’s surprise, Andrew actually scooted toward him, not quite close enough for their arms to be touching. He blew smoke into Neil’s face and a small smile played along Neil’s lips. “Don’t smile like that,” Andrew said.<br/>
“Why not?”<br/>
Andrew shot him a glance, but didn’t say anything.<br/>
Neil leaned in, laid his hand on top of Andrew’s, and whispered, “Yes or no?”<br/>
“Yes,” Andrew said and their lips met. Neil kept it gentle on purpose, chasing the feeling that always overcame him when they were kissing like this, nothing sexual in mind, just passing the time. It was like something in his chest was blooming, unfolding, with every movement of Andrew’s lips, every flutter of his lashes against Neil’s cheeks, every touch of fingertips ghosting over his neck. Unexpectedly, Andrew shifted his hand. He turned it over where it was resting below Neil’s, linking their fingers. “What’s this?” Neil asked, only millimetres from Andrew’s lips.<br/>
Andrew shut him up with another kiss. “Nothing.”<br/>
His voice sounded like it was definitely something.<br/>
“I don’t believe you,” Neil said, but Andrew distracted him by pressing kisses along his jaw.<br/>
When he found his lips again, Neil had already forgotten the words he was going to say.
Neil knew better than to push, content with feeling Andrew’s lips on his, fingers in between his own. A faint fluttering sensation rose within Neil’s stomach and his lips tingled from the kissing; he could stay like that forever, losing train of every thought as soon as it surfaced from the tangle of his mind. Slowly but surely, Andrew started leaning into him more, making Neil break away from the kiss and look into his eyes. For a split second, Andrew didn’t open his eyes, as if he were waking up but still caught in a dream. Neil had never seen this side of Andrew before, somehow more vulnerable than anything he’d ever shown him before. “Lean back,” he mumbled and let go of Neil’s hand.<br/>
He didn’t have to ask twice, Neil scooted back a little so his legs weren’t dangling anymore and laid down, cool concrete like a steadying hand on his back. His vision was going blurry around the edges, focussing completely on the face in front of him, skin like a painting in the diffuse light, soft-edged and shadow-marked. Andrew’s expression was carved of marble, but his eyes seemed a little less cold than usual as he set his elbows down on either side of Neil’s head, one leg in between his. “This okay?” he asked, voice deep and a little raspy.<br/>
“Yes,” Neil said, unable to avert his gaze from Andrew’s face.<br/>
Trying to read his features was as fruitless as always, but there was something relaxed in how he licked his lips and looked right back at Neil. His weight on top of him was grounding, pleasant, and Neil just had to ask. “What can I touch?”<br/>
Andrew closed his eyes for a moment, dropping his head down to kiss Neil’s lips. “If you keep your hands still, you can put them here,” Andrew said against his cheek, shifting his weight to one elbow to move Neil’s hand to his ribs with his other arm.<br/>
His body felt firm against Neil’s palm, strong and unyielding, but even through his tee, Neil felt his heart fluttering like crazy and his muscles tense up. “Sure?”<br/>
Andrew slowly relaxed, as if by force. “Yes. The other hand is fine, too.”<br/>
Neil slightly turned his head when he dipped down for another kiss. Andrew went still again, unsure. Neil smiled at him. “Don’t worry,” he said quietly, “It’s a yes. It’s just that…” Neil felt heat rise up into his cheeks and was thankful that he didn’t tend to blush very strongly. “You’re amazing.”<br/>
Andrew stared at him. “You already said that.”<br/>
“I know. I still mean it.”<br/>
“I’m going to kiss you before you say more stupid things like that.”<br/>
Andrew’s lips were back on his, moving subtly, his heart picking up its pace where Neil felt it hammering against Andrew’s ribcage, and Neil’s wasn’t far behind. With every passing second, every swipe of tongue against lip, against tongue, it became harder not to move his hands up and down Andrew’s sides, but he kept them where they were. He wouldn’t move them if Andrew didn’t give his okay. Andrew’s hands tangled in Neil’s hair, gently pulling at it in time with the rhythm of his kiss, and somewhere in the back of his head Neil realised that as much as Andrew had become his, he was just as much Andrew’s safe space. Safe enough to share these moments on the roof, safe enough to hold his hand, safe enough to share his cigarette, safe enough to kiss time and time again with no intentions of stopping. Safe enough to let him put his hands on his body. A strange feeling took over Neil as Andrew deepened their kiss, something that simultaneously put his entire body at ease, warming him from the inside, and felt like he had just fallen off a cliff with no option of ever turning back. He tightened his grip on Andrew’s sides just a little, memorising the way his muscles felt under his hands, and let his legs fall open a little, the outside of his right thigh pressing against the inside of Andrew’s left one at the same time as Neil tilted his head and got the angle of their kiss exactly right. A tingle rushed through him, making him shiver all over and his fingers flutter where they touched Andrew.<br/>
He was floating, the concrete against his back long forgotten, wrapped in cotton that muffled every outside sensation, he only existed in his and Andrew’s little bubble. He wanted to scream and to cry, couldn’t help the smile that made his lip twitch for a moment, lost in sensation. It was almost suffocating, the feeling that sat deep in his chest, radiating heat and electricity in a way he’d never known, a pressure on his lungs in the most perfect way he could imagine, and sent his thoughts flying astray. His breath quickened and Andrew's mouth slowed, somewhat grounding Neil. But the feeling stayed, refused to be willed away, only grew stronger with the graze of Andrew’s teeth against his lips, Andrew’s entire body lined up with his, Andrew’s nose pressed against his, Andrew’s eyelashes on his cheeks like butterflies, Andrew’s lips the softest and fiercest they’d ever been, his fingers pressed against Andrew’s heartbeat between his ribs, Andrew on top of him, Andrew at the sides of his head, Andrew in his hair, Andrew in his face and every part of him. Neil felt like he was standing on the edge of the roof, toes peeking over the edge, arms spread out, leaning against the wind, laughing into the silent air, eyes brighter than the sun itself. “Andrew,” he gasped, and his voice sounded foreign to himself.<br/>
In a second, Andrew was gone, rolled off his body, and it was like Neil had lost himself. His eyes flew open on their own accord and he was met with the sight of Andrew leaning on his arms next to him, face turned up towards the sky. He looked like something out of an Oscar Wilde tale with the dusk softening all his edges and taking the harshness from his face. He looked young, like the boy he was, like all the steel and stone had fallen away. His lips were a soft rose colour at this time of day when all the colour left the world, his hair barely more than a frail crown of ivory, but his eyes shone all the same, awake and attentive as always. It was hard to tell in the last light of the young night, but Neil thought he was blushing, cheeks red with the bloodrush of the kiss. His own heart was still beating ridiculously fast, outracing his thoughts even, and the strange, numbing feeling still hadn’t left his bones. “Andrew, I…”<br/>
Andrew swallowed and his jaw muscle twitched, but he didn’t say anything.<br/>
“This was different from usual.”<br/>
Andrew still kept quiet.<br/>
“I don’t know how to-”<br/>
“Then don’t.” Andrew’s voice seemed to scrape over his throat, almost breaking.<br/>
Somehow, that was all the answer Neil needed and it set his thoughts at ease. The warmth slowly seeped out of him as the wind picked up and he pulled his arms closer to his body, but he was still too riled up to move. After countless seconds of sitting in silence, the curls of cigarette smoke that left Andrew’s lips instantly scattered in the wind that tugged at their hair, Neil started to shiver. He was going to go inside soon, he told himself, but he’d sit here a little longer.<br/>
“I care about you,” he whispered into the wind, quiet enough that not even he himself could hear it.<br/>
He wasn’t ready to tell these words to Andrew, and Andrew wasn’t ready to hear them, even though they both knew already that they were true. They felt bittersweet as they flitted past his lips, tasted forbidden and dangerous, like words that might cost him his sanity if he wasn’t careful enough, but for now he was content to keep them there, in the wind, unheard but undeniably there. Inevitably, one day, they would be spoken, but until then they would be floating in the air, hidden in the nuances of their kisses and subtle looks and great gestures guarded only by weak excuses. And maybe, in a time far from this moment, Andrew would answer with a “I care about you too.”</p>
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